Clubbers' Decktionary: Jackin'

New strain of house popular in north of England as played by DJs Tom Zanetti, Nick Hannam & Ryan James

Jackin’, or Jacking, aka Jackin’ House, proper noun, a ‘new’ strain of house music which has emerged over the last couple of years predominantly in clubs around the north of England and the Midlands. The focus is very much on bouncy, energetic, bass driven styles of 4/4 and it’s been reinvigorating the UK house scene as a whole as its ripples have spread.

OriginsChicago in its original incarnation, obviously, but Jackin’ is heavily influenced by late-90s/early-00s UK Garage. It also takes a few cues from the Bassline sound of more recent years and often doesn’t sound so different from the Scouse House (aka Donk, or Bounce) that dominated clubs in the north in the mid-00s.

Key figuresLeeds MC Tom Zanetti, DJs Nick Hannam, Ryan James, Tom Garnett and Ko Kane, Wolverhampton’s Hannah Wants, plus Birmingham’s ‘Ill’ Phil Dolman and Cause & Affect are all widely recognised within the scene, each boasting a following of thousands on the social networks. Clubs such as Hectik in Leeds and Manchester, Birmingham’s 2.31 and Swagger in Wakefield were notable for cultivating an audience early on, while features on Rinse FM, BBC 1Xtra and Radio 1 plus a Creamfields festival booking for Hannah Wants have all helped the sound to blow up in a big way. Leeds agency Sleepin Is Cheatin is probably Jackin’s most proactive promoter right now, regularly staging events for big crowds at the city’s 1500 capacity Club Mission venue.